We can’t imagine how hard it must be to have a young child going through such a serious illness. Parents would undoubtedly give up anything to see their child get better, but this is certainly the limit!

According to the South China Morning Post, a couple had their crowdfunding campaigns for their 4-year-old son who was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in July, frozen after they appeared to have offered to sell the boy’s twin sister to fund their son’s treatment.

The parents, Liang Yujia and Chen Lanqin, who hail from Sichuan, China, had over 90,000 yuan (approx. RM53,800) in donations frozen across three crowdfunding platforms, Aixinchou, Shudi Chou and Chunyu Chou.

The father, Liang, was photographed with his daughter holding a sign out in Chengdu city, stating that he was willing to give his “lovely and cute daughter” to anyone who could donate money for his son’s treatment.

The photo soon surfaced online, causing a lot of outrage among Chinese netizens, deeming the act “daylight human trafficking”. Others called him gender-biased for preferring his son over his daughter.

However, the parents claimed that they had only offered their young daughter as a gimmick as they faced some struggles raising enough money for their son’s treatment. Their target was 500,000 to 600,000 yuan (approx. RM299,270 to RM359,120).

Liang stated that he didn’t expect so much backlash, as they merely wanted attention from more donors, saying,

“I really regret doing so now, but we were running out of options at that time. We were anxious about not being able to find enough money, so we came up with this idea.”

One of the crowdfunding websites, Aixinchou, however, may unfreeze the parents’ campaign, but the funds have to go directly to their son’s hospital to ensure that the donations go for the boy’s treatment.

Now, according to MSN News, who cited Beijing News, the parents are considering selling their home to raise funds.

Well, at least they have learnt their lesson! Let’s hope that they get enough money to fund their son’s treatment.